Poltergeists (whose name literally translates from German as “noisy ghost”) are a type of restless spirit whose legend originates in paranormal accounts from across the centuries and on several different continents.
Description[]
Usually invisible to the naked eye, poltergeists can be identified by the loud noises which they are fond of making and the unexplained - and frequently violent - movement of physical objects which they produce. Unlike many ghosts, they are capable of actual physical interaction with a living being, and are most often thought of as malevolent entities.
A point of note regarding poltergeists is that while most spirits are associated with a geographical location, such as a house, road, or cemetery, these beings tend to haunt a specific person, and are known to plague children in their early teens in particular.
Poltergeists are also notoriously persistent spirits, often continuing to haunt a location or person even after numerous attempts at exorcism (though like most spirits exorcism does have limited effect and can at minimum weaken their more destructive tendencies, at least temporarily).
Possible Explanation[]
Several paranormal theorists have put forward the idea that poltergeists do not exist, and are actually the manifestations of the psychokinetic abilities of children, brought about by the onset of adolescence, and as-yet uncontrolled.
In Popular Culture[]
- These entities lend their name to the Poltergeist trilogy of horror movies, although only the first instalment actually dealt with a poltergeist.
- Animal Planet produced an episode of their “mockumentary” show The Lost Tapes which depicted the activities of a poltergeist.